William h



(No Model) W. H. GAVNISS.

GAR COUPLING.

No. 593,195. Patented Nov. 9,1897.

11/ haze)- I l I UNITED STATES PATENT ruins.

WVILLIAM H. CAVNISS, OF HELENA, ARKANSAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 WILLIAM MCCOY, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLI NG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,195, dated November 9, 1897.

Application filed April 30, 1897.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. GAVNIss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Helena, in the county of Phillips and State of Arkansas, have inventeda new and useful Gar-Coupling, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates toimprovements in car-couplings.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of car-couplings and to provide a simple, strong, and durable one capable of coupling automatically and adapted to be readily uncoupled from the tops and sides of cars without going between them.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a car-coupling constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a car. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view showing two draw-heads coupled. Fig. 4: is a transverse sectional view showing two drawheads coupled.

Like numerals-of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings. V

1 designates a draw-head mounted on a car 2 between draft-timbers 3 and supported by a carrier-iron 4 in the usual manner, and it is capable of a limited lateral movement, being pressed or held by a spring 5 for a purpose hereinafter described. The spring 5, which engages the outer edge of the draw-head and which forces the same inward, is interposed between one of the draft-timbers and the said draw-head, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.

, The draw-head is provided at its outer side with a substantially straight arm 6, and it has a curved arm 7 at the opposite side to form a recess to receive the end of the outer arm 6 of another draw-head. The outer end of the arm 6 is enlarged and rounded, as

$erial in. 634,610. on model.)

shown, and forms a shoulder 8 at the inner side of the arm, and the other arm? is curved at its inner face to conform to the configuration of the arm 6, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. The inner end of the arm 6 is hollowed out or recessed to complete the recess formed by the arm 7, and a shoulder 10 is provided at the end of the recess to interlock with the outer shoulder 8 of another draw-head. The inner faces of the draw-heads conform to the configuration of each other in order to interlock, and the recesses at the inner ends of the draw-heads are sufficiently large to permit the draw-heads sufficient lateral movement to disengage each other when uncoupled.

Each draw-head is provided at the inner face of its arm 6 with a concavity 11, and when two draw-heads are coupled the concavities 11 form a socket to receive a coupling ball 12, which connects the two draw-heads. The socket formed by the concavities 11 is of the same width as the ball, but is enlarged longitudinally of the draw-head to permit a limited play of the parts.

The ball 12, which'is connected to a chain or similar flexible connection 13, is adapted to be drawn upward into a tubular housing or casing 14, mounted on the draw-head over the concavity, the top of which is sufficiently enlarged to permit the ball to drop into the same. top by a suitable head, is provided with an eXteriorly-arranged support 15, on which is fulcrumed the lever 17, extending upward and downward from the support 15 and having its lower end connected with a reciprocating slide 18. The slide 18, which is disposed longitudinally of the draw-head in suit able ways of the arm 6, has its front or outer end arranged to project across the bottom of the casing, as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the accompanyin g drawings, to support the ball and prevent the same from dropping into the concavity. The inner end of the slide is provided with a transversely-disposed L-shaped arm 19, arranged when the slide is extended forward to be engaged by a draw-head, whereby when two draw-heads come together for coupling the slide will be moved inward or rear- The casing 14., which is closed at the to couple the draw-heads.

ward to release the ball and cause the same he -sh p e m has one portion arranged in a horizontal 'plane in a recess of the draw-head, and the other portion, which depends from the horizontal part, is received into a pocket or cavity 20,

whereby it is prevented from being crushed or otherwise injured during the operation of coupling.

The upper end of the lever 17 is provided with a substantially L-shaped arm 21, which extends into the casing lat and depends from the upper portion of the same. When the slide is extended forward, the L-shaped arm 1 21 is drawn outward with its depending portion substantially vertical, as illustrated in full lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and when the slide is moved rearward the L-shaped arm 21 is thrown into the casing 14in 'theposition illustrated in dotted lines in Fig 2 of the drawings, so that the depending "portion is disposed at an inclination, whereby-when the ball is'drawn upward for uncoupling it will engage the inclined portion of the L shaped arm and'automatically move the slide forward and set the parts for automatic coupling;

the car. 1 The chains 22 ,'which are securedat their outer terminals to the camerie aup ward and inward at an inelination'and pass over a pulley 23, and are secured at their inner'te'rmi'n'als to the'chain 13 a s'uflicient distaneebelow the pulley 23 to permit the necessary lift of'theball. The outer end of each chain 22 is provided with a ring'24,'whic'h may be engaged-over an arm or projection 25 when it is desired to lock' theball in an elevated position and prevent automatic coupling.

The outer end of the draw-head'is horizontally slotted and is provided with a vertical coupling-pin perforation. Thisconstruetion enables the draw-head to be coupled with any ordinary pin-and-link car-coupling.

Itwill be seenthat the car-coupling is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, that it is automatic in coupling, and that it is adapted to be readily uncoupled from the tops and sides of cars without going between'them. Furthermore, it will be apparcut that the operation of uncoupling the ears automatieally'resets the parts for automatic coupling.

' What I claim is 1. Ina ear-coupling, the combination of a draw-head provided a't'one side with a concavityand'having a housing locatedabove the same, a ball fitting'within the housing'and adapted to engage the eoncavities of twodra'w heads, a slide mounted on the draw-head and projecting into the housing and adapted to support the ball in an elevated position, and means for automatically reciprocating the slide when two cars come together for coupling to cause the ball to drop and for recipr0- eating the slide in the opposite direction when the ball is raised in uncouplin g, substantially as described.

2. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head provided at one side with a concav ity, a casing arranged over the concavity, a ball fitting within the casing and adapted to engage the concavities of the two draw-heads, a slide mountedonthe draw-head, projecting into the casing and supporting the ball in an elevatedpos'ition, said slide being arranged to be engaged by a draw'head to release the ball, and a lever'eqnnected with the slide and arranged to be engaged the bans ee the adapted toengage the concavities of two draw- The chain 18, which passes through a 'perforation' of the'top of the casing 14',"extends to the-top of the car to enable the operation 5 of uncoupling to be performed from" that point,and oppositely-disposedchains22 are i provided for enabling the operation of un- 1 coupling to be performed from either side of heads, a movable supportarranged to receive the ball and hold the same in an elevated pos'ition, and a device connecting the ball with the support, whereby when the ball is elevated the support will belcarri'ed beneaththe' same, substantially as described.

4. In a ear-coupling, the combination of a draw-head'provid'ed with a concavity, a oasinstants modnted on the draw-head and arranged to project into thecasing to form a support,-'a lever fulcrumed between its ends 011 the casin'g, connected at its lower endto the slide" andpr ovided at its upper end with an ari'n' e x tendin g into the casing and arranged inan inclined position when the slide is withdrawn, and the ball arranged within the eas- 'ing,'ada'pted to be supported by the slide and capable of engaging the inclined arin of the lev'er,whereby the slide is thrown forward when the ball is lifted, substantially as described."

5. In a car-coupling, the-combination of a draw-head provided at one side with a concavity, a casing mounted over the same, a ball arranged within the casing, a reciprocatingslide mounted on the draw-head and adapted to exten'd across the casing to form a support for the ball, said slide beingprovided with a laterallydis posed L-shaped arm, a lever fulcrnmed on the casing,'conneeted at its lower'en'd to the slide and provided at its upper end with an L-shaped arm extending into the casing, and operating mechanism connected with the ball, substantially as described.

6 In oupli e ombieat o o draw-head, a locking device, a chain extending upward from the locking device and dene to e ee tee With hetop o a a andprovidedbetween its ends with a pulley 23 mounted on and carried by the said chain, In testimony that I claim the foregoing as and side chains connected with the said chain my own I have hereto aflixed my signaturein at a point below the pulley, passing over the the presence of two Witnesses.

same and extending therefrom in opposite di- WILLIAM H. OAVNISS. 5 rections to enable the locking device to be Witnesses:

operated from the sides of a cam, substantially JOHN I. MOORE,

as described. J. M. VINEYARD. 

